Piano attachment.



No. 627,739. Patented lune 27, |899.

W. J. NICKERSUN..

PIANO ATTACHMENT.

(Application Bled. Nov. 26, 1897. Renewed Jan, 21, 1899.)

(No Model.)

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

vWILLIAM J. NIOKERSON, OF NEIV ORLEANS, LOUISIANA.

PIANO ATTACH M ENT.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 627,739, dated J' une 27, 1899.

Application filed November 26,' 1897. Renewed January 2l, 1899. Serial No. 702,995. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Beit known that I, WILLIAM J. NICKEEsoN, a citizen of the United States, residing at New Orleans, in the parish of Orleans and State of Louisiana, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Piano Attachments; andIdo declarethe following to beafull,clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to'which it appertains to make and use the same.

My invention relates to pianos; and it consists in the provision of an attachment embodying a tone-modifier and a pianissimo device, the said attachment being adapted to be placed and secured in any ordinary upright piano of standard size without altering the construction thereof and the tone-modifier and pianissimo device being adapted to be used in conjunction with each independent of the other and being connected ywith counterbalance-weights, whereby they are caused to remainl in the various positions in i which they are placed.

Vith the foregoing in mind the invention will be fully understood from the following description and claims when taken in conjunction with the annexed drawings, in which- Figure l is a front elevation, partly in section, of a piano equipped with my improved attachment. Fig. Zisadetail transverse section, partly broken away, taken in the plane indicated by the line oc :t of Fig. l.` Fig. 3 is a detail section taken in the plane indicated by the line y y of Fig. l. Fig. 4 is a detail end elevation, partly broken away, of the piano; and Fig. 5 is a section of a modication on a reduced scale.

In the said drawings similar letters designate corresponding parts in all of the several views, referring to which- A designates an ordinary upright piano.

B O designate the brackets of myimproved attachment, which are connected to the `inner sides of the end wallsa b of the pianocase by screws or other suitable means, and D E designate adjustable bars, which are pivotally connected at one end to the bracket B and have their opposite ends arranged in slots c in the bracket O, whereby they are guided and held against lateral movement or displacement.. The bar D is provided with an apron F, of felt or other suitable material, de-

signed to be interposed between the hammers CZ and strings e of the piano and forms the pianissimo device or muffler of the attachment. The bar E is provided with an apron 'G, divided into tongues f, having metallic plates g on their sides contiguous to the strings, and constitutes the tone-modiiier of,

the attachment.

There is sufficient space between the end wall of the case and the top thereof when the latter is closed to permitof the free passage of small cords. I therefore prefer to employ cords H I for the purpose of enabling a person standing at one end of the piano to adjust the bars D E without the necessity of raising the case-top. These cords H I are connected at one end to the bars D E, adjacent to the free ends thereof, and they extend loosely between the top and end wall of the case and are provided at their opposite ends with suitable weights J, which are preferably arranged in and hidden from View by tassels K and have for their purpose to counterbalance the adjustable bars D E and hold the same in the various positions in which they are placed.

The tassels K prevent the Weights from Inarring the piano-case, and in order to prevent the cords from scratching said case I provide the shoe L, which is of thin sheet metaland may be and preferably is plated with nickel or silver, so as to enhance the beauty of the instrument. This shoe L has its upper end bent, as shown, to engage the upper end of the case-wall, and it has its lower end portion slitted and bent, as shown, so as to form the tubes M, which receive andguide the cords H I, and thereby prevent the same from becoming entangled.

In the practice of my invention it is simply necessarywhen it is desired to mufie the piano to raise the weight connected to cord H, so as to permit the bar D to fall into a horizontal position and interpose its apron F between the hammers and strings, while when it is desired to modify the tone of the instrument the operator has but to raise the weight on cord I, so as to permit the bar E to assume a horizontal position, with its apron interposed between the hammers and strings. With the bar E in this position it will be observed that the hammers will strike the tongues f, and by reason of the metal plates on said tongues en- IOO 2 scarse gaging the strings tones similar to those of a mandolin and like stringed instruments will be produced.

When it is desired to both muffle and modify the tones, the two bars D E are permitted to assume a horizontal position, while when the ordinary tones of the piano are desired both bars are raised to the inclined position.

It will be appreciated from the foregoing that my improved attachment is very cheap and simple and is adapted to be quickly and easily placed in pianos, such as at presentin use. It will also be appreciated that both the pianissimo device and the tone-modifyin g device may be quickly and easily adjusted by the strings at one end of the piano, which is a highly important advantage. It will further be observed that when the free ends of .both of the bars D E are raised the said bars or their appurtenances Will not interfere with the hammers striking the strings or with the operation of any other part of the piano.

I prefer to have my improved attachment embody a pianissimo device and a tone-modifying device, but when desired either one or the other may be omitted-that is to say, the attachment may be provided with a tonemodifying device alone or a pianissimo device alone Without departing from the scope of my invention.

Instead of arranging the shoe L on the end Wall of the piano-case I may and in many cases prefer to arrange the said shoe on the front Wall of the case, as shown in Fig. 5. Vhen this is done, the cords H I will be carried through suitable guides-such as eyes t, connected to the piano-case-and their outer weighted ends will depend at the front of the case, so as to enable a performer seated before the piano to conveniently adj ust either of the barsD Without the necessity of getting up.

Having thus described my invention, What I claim isl. The combination with an upright piano; of an attachment comprising a bracket connected to the inner side of one end Wall of the pian o-case, a lon gitudinal,verticallymovable bar pivotally connected at one end to the bracket and carrying an apron adapted to be interposed between the hammers and strings of the piano, a cord connected to said bar adjacent to the free end thereof and extending out over one of the Vwalls of the piano-case,

' and a suitable counterbalance-Weight connected to said cord, substantially as specified. 2. The combination With an upright piano; of a longitudinal, vertically-movable bar pivotally connected at one end-With one end Wall of the piano-case and carrying an apron adapted to be interposed between the hammers and strings of the piano, a suitable means connected with the free end of said bar for holding the same in its various positions.

3. The combination with an upright piano; of a longitudinal vertically-movable bar pivotally connected at one end with one end Wall of the piano-case and carrying an apron adapted to be interposed between the hammers and strings of the piano, a metallic shoe engaging the upper end of one Wall of the pianocase, a cord connected to the bar adjacent to the free end thereof and resting over the shoe, and a counterbalance-weight connected to the outer end of the cord and provided with a suitable covering, substantially as specified.

4. The combination with an upright piano; of an attachment comprising a bracket connected to the inner side of one end Wall of the piano-case, abracket connected to the inside of the other end Wall thereof and having a vertical guideway, a longitudinal, verticallymovable bar pivotally connected at one end to the first-named bracket and having its free end arranged in the guide-Wall of the other bracket and carrying an apron, and a suitable means connected with the free end of said bar for holding the same in its various positions.

5. The combination with an upright piano; of an attachment comprising a bracket connected to the inner side of one end wall of the piano-case, a bracket connected to the inside of the other end Wall thereof and having vertical guide-walls, longitudinal, verticallymovable bars pivotally connected at one end to the first-named bracket and having their free ends arranged in the guideWays of the other bracket, a sound-muffling apron connected to one bar, a tone-modifying apron connected to the other bar, a metallic shoe engaging the upper end of one wall of the piano-case and having tubes, cords connected to the bars adjacent to the free ends thereof and extending over the shoe and through the tubes thereof and counterbalance-Weights connected to the outer ends of said cords, substantially as specified.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of tWo Witnesses.

I/VILLIAM J. NICKERSON.

Vitnesses:

SIDNEY ROBINSON, WILLIE KILLELER.

IOC 

